Recent elections in Virginia and Kentucky showed Democrats making political inroads into Republican strongholds. Not so in Mississippi last Tuesday, when voters decided that the state --ranked 50th in healthcare, 48th in economy, 46th in education and 48th overall -- needs no change in management. The Republican majority in the state senate grew even larger. Political analyst Otis Sanford says that Mississippi voters are, above all, loyal to the G.O.P.
Voters in DeSoto County may be neighbors to Tennessee's largest metropolitan area, but their concerns are far removed from those faced in Memphis, as indicated by Tate Reeves' dominance in the governor's race there.
Meanwhile, law enforcement in Memphis finds itself in the middle of several recent debates. One is whether elected officials should take over the Citizen Law Enforcement Review Board, and another concerns changes to the Kendrick Consent Decree, which limits the ability of Memphis Police to monitor citizens who are not suspected of crimes.